Team-Based Surgical Scheduling for Improved Patient Access in a High-Volume, Tertiary Head and Neck Cancer Center

BACKGROUND: Delays in care can lead to inferior survival outcomes in head and neck cancer and other cancers. In the case of malignancies for which surgery is the preferred primary treatment modality, challenges in surgical scheduling can present a major hurdle to initiating definitive therapy in a timely fashion. It is critical to maintain efficient use of operating room resources. Traditionally, surgery is scheduled with the surgeon who initially saw the patient in consultation, and timing of surgery is tightly linked to the availability and operating room block time of the individual surgeon. METHODS: Scheduling of oncologic head and neck surgery was transitioned from a surgeon-specific method to a team-based approach wherein a patient in need of oncologic head and neck surgery is scheduled with the next-available surgeon with appropriate expertise. RESULTS: Despite substantial growth of our practice, transition to a team-based scheduling approach allowed us to maintain high utilization of operating room block time. Patient and surgeon satisfaction remain high with this new system. CONCLUSIONS: A team-based surgical scheduling approach can help optimize operating room utilization and minimize delays in cancer care, potentially leading to improved oncologic outcomes.